Computer network model finds Parkinson's tipping pointNew Scientist Share Too much of a good thing can be bad for you. The synchronous firing of neurons is crucial for many ordinary brain functions, but excessive, uncontrolled synchronisation might be behind the symptoms of
Parkinson's disease. Now a computer model has backed up the idea.More

How electricity breaks down polymersCharlotte Observer Share For the first time, researchers have observed how soft plastics fail under electrical voltages, giving scientists a lead in developing more durable materials.
Polymers, plastics used to insulate wires, have long been known to break down when exposed to electricity. Until now, however, that process has never been observed directly. Read the associated Physical Review Letters abstract.More

Physicists put a new twist on graphenePhysicsWorld Share Physicists have worked out why different samples of multilayer graphene can have very different electronic properties. The answer, according to an international team, lies in the relative rotation between layers and the discovery could lead to a new way of controlling the electronic properties of the material. Read the associated APS Physics
Synopsis.More

MDC's Bundled Engineered SolutionsMDC offers virtually every component required for vacuum research and vacuum coating applications. With the introduction of MDC’s standard chamber line researchers have the advantage of bundling these high quality pieces together without hours or
weeks of special engineering. More…

The amazing disappearing antineutrinoScientific American Share Neutrinos have long perplexed physicists with their uncanny ability to evade detection, with as many as two-thirds of the ghostly particles apparently going missing en route from the Sun to Earth. Now a refined version of an old calculation is causing a stir by suggesting that researchers have also systematically underestimated the number of the particles' antimatter partners -- antineutrinos -- produced by nuclear reactor
experiments.More

Quantum dots can tag individual molecules with a fluorescent glowPopular Science Share A team of engineers at Ohio State University has packed a nanoparticle full of fluorescent blinking quantum dots. When the particle is attached to a single molecule, it functions as a gaudily glowing beacon. With their bright, continuous fluorescent glow that transitions between red, green and yellow, the nanoparticle is a better way to tag molecules, both in its function and in its good looks.More

Jupiter and Saturn's rings show echoes of comet collisionsArs Technica Share Researchers have proposed an explanation for the observed repeating pattern of alternating bright and dark stripes within Saturn's C-ring, involving an extraplanetary body striking the rings and twisting them out of their normal axis of rotation. They find that a similar thing occurred as the comet Shoemaker-Levy slammed into Jupiter.More

Remodeling the standard modelScience News Share The Large Hadron Collider, the world’s most powerful atom smasher, may be only months away from finding a new elementary particle -- a sign of a new force
in nature -- recent studies suggest.More